Florida Property Investment – Some Thoughts

We receive many inquiries from out-of-town investors who are enthusiast about the idea of buying a Florida home to use as an investment. Some of them are looking to diversify their assets beyond just their home country or region; some see it as a way to get a foothold in the Florida real estate market in advance of moving to the Sunshine State themselves when they retire; others simply like the idea of owning property in a place that continues to grow and attract more residents.

We are able to report our experiences over the past few years, where home prices have recovered significantly since the downturn that happened almost 10 years ago. One big factor in this relates to the long-term rental market: there is a high demand for homes from prospective renters because a lot of residents lost their own property in the downturn and are still unable to buy, so they have to rent. Many investors have taken advantage of this high demand by moving into real estate but even so, the demand from renters seems to be a lot higher than the supply. Long-term rents are increasing and not falling, and this will have an impact on short-term rental home prices too.

A recent article adds more background to the situation that is common in many parts of the USA and Orlando is mentioned as one example of what’s going on:

The shift has been vivid over the past five years in the Piedmont Park neighborhood of Apopka, a former agricultural hub now crowded with housing developments. Where one in 10 homes was once a rental, now more than a third are. Many are owned by Wall Street investment firms that bought them out of foreclosure at deep discounts.